From the Deep
by queenpearl
Summary: The events of "Surface" from Topeka's POV.
1. Chapter 1

It was a routine patrol in the South Pacific for Topeka. Cruising between foreign ports with routine comms check in between, nothing unusual. Until _it_ came.

It emerged from the depths with little warning. Topeka's radar spotted it first. It was huge, at least her size but the readings couldn't be correct. This thing wasn't man made, it was a biologic. A biologic headed straight for her.

Topeka opened her mouth, letting the water flow in and touch her sensitive receptors in the back of her throat as she inhaled the creatures scent. In an instant long dormant instincts reawakened and the submarine snarled, arming her torpedoes as she loaded them into the tubes.

"Topeka what's going on?" Her captain asked, touching the wheel only to have it spin suddenly and throw him off. He was thrown back and caught by a nearby crew member. "What's wrong?" He tried again, receiving a deep growl in response.

"Sir, I believe Topeka has gone feral." The crewman said.

"Nonsense!" The captain growled. "Topeka is a United States Submarine, why would she turn on us?"

"Maybe because there's something out there that's caused her to." The crewman replied.

Topeka's growling intensified and she let out a warning bark in her native tongue. This only served to incise the creature and it increased its speed towards the submarine. Topeka launched her torpedoes as it came into range but she never got the chance to know if they actually made their mark. The creature came in from the side, biting down on her hull. Topeka countered by guiding her torpedoes around towards it. They impacted and the shock wave tore Topeka's hull free from the creature's jaws, the teeth marks leaving a perfect imprint. The submarine rolled on her back, drifting. A bright light overcame her and then, darkness.

2 days later and 500 miles further south than she was supposed to be, she was discovered drifting amongst the ice of the Weddell Sea. Unconscious, half-frozen and barely alive...


	2. Chapter 2

_So sorry for the long wait. I will try and have more chapters up soon._

Topeka didn't remember much. All she recalled was biting cold and the fight to stay awake. One minute she was cruising happily in the South Pacific, the next she was in the chilling ice filled conditions of the Weddell Sea. She was anchored to an ice flow, disorientated and freezing.

Arleigh Burke had been called in the moment the sub was located. All her medical instincts said the submarine was suffering from severe hypothermia and trauma of several kinds. The destroyer navigated her way through the numerous ice flows relying on Endurance to break through for her. The icebreaker was doing a decent job so far, Arleigh just hoped she could keep it up. Preferably without meeting the fate of her namesake. Arleigh had to rescue one ship already thank you.

Endurance was beside a little black form, huddled to the ice pack. She looked up from licking Topeka's flank. "She's unconscious. I can't rouse her."

Arleigh cursed inwardly. She may've been too late already. But damn it if she wasn't going to try and save the sub.

She worked hard to push down her fear and maintain her calm professional manner as she said "Step aside Endurance. I can take it from here."

The icebreaker nodded and moved back to clearing a path for the two to return to open sea. Arleigh gently picked up the dead weight sub in her jaws, more than a bit concerned at the lack of response. Topeka's entire hull was just frozen stiff. Arleigh wasn't even sure if she was breathing or not. She didn't have time to check. Weather was closing in and she had to get the heck out of dodge before more ice floes were driven in from the west, creating a wall even Endurance couldn't break through. Arleigh's first priority was getting Topeka warm and she kept the sub close to her hull, tucked in her lee as she sailed along. Chains kept the two ships together allowing Arleigh to half carry-half drag her form the ice pack.

Once in open sea, Arleigh increased speed, making for South Georgia and its critical depot of recently deposited medical supplies. The journey north had thawed Topeka out some and while the submarine wasn't frozen stiff anymore she had started shivering. That was a good sign. It meant she wasn't nearly as hypothermic as before. She needed the energy to keep that all important natural temperature stabilizer going through and Arleigh injected some glucose into her.

"The sugar should keep her levels stable until we reach a more temperate region." Arleigh sighed and Endurance nodded.

"Just lead on boss." She said.

Arleigh turned her attention back to Topeka as the submarine moaned. There were unusual wounds on her bow that Arleigh could only identify as a bite mark of some kind and an awfully big one at that. Stretching all the way across and around Topeka's bow took a jaw of tremendous size. Doing a quick calculation in her head, the destroyer determined the creature that did this had to be her size at least. 450-500 feet in length! The destroyer swore.

"Guess I'll be okay then if you're using vulgar Arleigh." A voice rasped.

It took Arleigh a moment to realize it was Topeka. The submarine was smiling at her though her eyes were dark with pain. Arleigh had gotten moderate hypothermia once when she was on patrol in the Arctic Ocean. She'd forgotten to take her daily ration of heat inducers. It wasn't a mistake she repeated again. Recalling how she felt when the submarine's in her task force had managed to get her warmed up successfully, she shuddered. It felt like her very blood was on fire. Topeka must've been feeling the same way.

Arleigh nuzzled her. "You're not out of the woods yet." She said. "And I wasn't swearing about you. I was swearing about what bit you."

"Oh." Topeka looked away.

"Anything you can tell me will be helpful." Arleigh said.

Topeka if anything looked even more disturbed at this. "I-I can't. I don't know, I..." She whimpered.

Arleigh held her. "Shh. Shh, it's alright. Just slow down now and speak clearly."

Topeka swallowed hard. "I don't know what it was." She began. "It was big, huge. It carried a scent that-I don't know it frightened me. It was like, I was a deer in the headlights I just froze. No, it was more than that." She paused, her tongue swiping once across her blistered lips. "It was like, it was the predator and I was its prey. No not like, it was that."

"Some kind of long lost cousin?" Arleigh asked.

"I don't know and I'm not particularly eager to find out." Topeka replied, trying to wrack her brain for anything that might carry such a scent to it that could be similar to some ancient predator that hunted submarines.

Arleigh too was confused. What creature could possibly frighten a submarine into submission? Make Topeka flee halfway across the world while her crew simply vanished. That was another question the healer needed to ask her but when she looked down she saw Topeka had fallen back asleep, obviously exhausted. Sighing, she shifted her weight so that Topeka was resting more against her. She rested her head across that steadily rising and falling black flank, reassured by its motion. Topeka was on the mend and would go through a full interrogation following her return to the states but in the meantime, Arleigh was just glad the submarine was alive. And she too surrendered to the desire of sleep.


End file.
